Monday, March 12, 2007

A meeting of creative minds

I was privileged last week to attend the evidence based design and a passion for improving the environment of care in health facilities world wide. The Center is known for matching new design technology with progressive hospital administrators who are looking for innovative ways to improve patient care.
Environment Standards Committee (ESC) members volunteer their time to bring evidence based ‘best practices’ to such organizations such as the American Institute of Architects (AIA).
ESC members tend to be recognized leaders in architecture and design who are simultaneously extremely creative and pragmatic. They marry their expertise with a hunger for innovation to produce solutions that are aesthetically, environmentally and economically beneficial.
Following the meeting, we were given a tour of the building. Richard Smith was kind enough to show us the newly designed structure of 1305 York Avenue, a part of the Weill Cornell Medical College. Mr. Smith demonstrated how attention to design details have yielded a significantly better care experience for patients who receive ambulatory outpatient services here.
Many of the innovations stemmed from a patient survey that highlighted patient perceptions about care. Changes in design to floor plans and internal procedures have produced a streamlined admissions process that reduces waiting time, assures HIPPA privacy and eliminates paper records. It would be difficult to review all the innovations of this building, so I will share some images of the tour.


Center For Health Design